Conveying apparatus.



4. TEMPLES.

CONVEYING-APPARATUS.

AYPLIOATIQN FILED DEOJI 1,91Q.

989,663. Patented Apr. 1 8, 191,1.

" Amb/me Hnp/as.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

AMBROSE TEMPLES, OF MCINTYRE, GEORGIA.

CONVEYING APPARATfiS.

To all whom it may comm: I

Be it known that I, AMBROSE TEMPLES, a citizen of the United States, residing at McIntyre, in the county of Wilkinson and State of Georgia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Conveying Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to elevated carriers or cable ways, particularly adapted and intended for conveying articles or material from one point to another by means of a carrier traveling on a cable or rope, the whole forming a conveying apparatus which may be used with advantage for the purpose of conveying any portable material between fixed points. Its useful application includes the transportation of mail on rural routes from the road to the house; the transportation of water from a well or other source to any place desired; the transportation of earth; the transportation of material across rivers; and various other utilizations such as will readily occur from a disclosure of the apparatus.

The apparatus includes a air of towers at the point-s from which and to which the matter is to be transported; a hoisting device at each tower; a wire or other cable connected to said hoisting device so that its respective ends may be raised or lowered; and a carrier which travels by gravity along the wire, from the high end to the low end.

The invention is illustrated in the acc0m panying drawings in which the figure is a side elevation of the apparatus.

Referring specifically to the drawings 6 indicates a tower ateach end of the line. This tower may be suit-ably constructed of wood, metal or other material, and each tower will be of proper height to give the necessary fall to the line, for travel in either direction. At the top of eachtower is a winding drum 7 with a pulley 8 over which a belt or rope 9 passes This rope may be wound once or more around the pulley, according to the weight of the load to be lifted. At or near the base of each tower is a winding drum 10 which is provided with a ratchet wheel 11 and also a pulley 12, around which pulley the belt or rope 9 passes, to hold the belt reasonably tight. A rope 13 is connected at one end to the drum 7 and at the other end to the pulley 12, and so arranged that when the drums are rotated the rope will wind oil of one drum and onto the Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 1, 1910.

Patented Apr. 18, 1911 Serial No. 595,049.

other. This rope is connected to one end of a wire or cable 14 which extends bet-ween the towers. A carrier 15 is mounted to'run on this rope, conveniently by means of a wheeled hanger 16. The hangers ma be of any suitable construction, and the carrier may be modified according to the load or material to be transported. A holding rope 17 is connected to the carrier, to hold the same until the end of the cable 14 is raised to the top of the tower, the connection between the rope 17 and the carrier being such that it may he slipped when desired, such connection being for example a slip knot 18 connected to a cord 19, so that by pulling the cord the carrier will be released. Any other king of a releasing device or catch may be use For tightening the wire or cable 14, at either end, I provide a lever 20 with a pawl 21 engageable with the ratchet wheel 11, and said lever may be operated by hand. A detent 22 prevents back slip of the Windlass.

In the operation or use of the apparatus the load is placed in the carrier on the wire 14. Then by pulling on the belt 9 the drums 7 and 10 are turned, the rope l3 winding up on the former drum and unwinding from the latter, until the end of the wire 14 is hoisted to the top of the tower, the pawls 21 and 22 being swung out of the wheel 11. Then the wire or cable 14 is tightened by means of the lever 20 at the other end, said lever being operated to pull the end of the wire down toward the drum 10 until said wire is tight, the load being meanwhile held by the rope 17. When the wire is taut, the rope 17 is released and the carrier will run by gravity down the wire from one tower to the other. It may then be returned. either loaded or unloaded, by a corresponding operation of the devices atthe respective towers, the ends of the wire 14 being alternately raised and lowered according to the direction of run desired.

The wires may be duplicated, with the provision of additional windlasses, and so several loads may be sentat once; or one load may be sent one way and another load another way.

By making the towers high enough loads may be conveyed over considerable distances, and the simplicity of the apparatus is such that it may be erected by unskilled persons and without specialdevices or parts.

Having thus described my invention, What 2 A conveying apparatus, comprising two towers, a cable, between the same, a travellng carrier on the cable, upper and lower drums at each tower, a ropej'onn'ected at its opposite ends to the two drums onv each tower, to wind from one to the other, and also connected to an end of the cable, means at each tower to turn the upper drum to raise the end of the cable at. either tower, and a hand-operated device at each tower operatively engageable with the lower drum to turn the same and take up the said rope,

and thereby tighten the cable. I

I In testimony whereo I afiixmy signature in presence of two witnesses.

AMBROSE TEMPLES', Witnesses: i

R. E. SPIOEB, J. T. HATFIELD.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

